Thesis Haikus

Earlier this semester, via the Social List, a PhD student who previously completed the MALD degree revived a several-year tradition wherein students reframe the title of their thesis in the form of a haiku.  Unfamiliar with this poetry form?  In its most basic, the haiku requires three lines of seven, five, and seven syllables.  Perhaps these thesis haikus (or thes-kus) don’t quite reach the pinnacle of haiku achievement, but they certainly frame the thesis topics well.  I tried not to pick among them and just harvested as many as I could off the Social List messages.

The Thesis Haikus

Thesis/haiku title: “Trends in youth political engagement during Tunisia’s democratic transition, 2010-2014”

We did it our way
And then we tried it their way
Neither really work.

Thesis/haiku title: “Culture and Women’s Rights: CEDAW Article 5(a) Implementation in West Africa”

Women get the shaft
Laws are trying to fix this
Culture makes it hard

“The New Frontier of development: how securitization and risk spreading in the microfinance industry can benefit development and the private sector”

Nervous investors
Development won’t hurt you
Try it, it’s awesome

“The 2014 Tunisian electoral system: implications of a semi-presidential system on the nascent democracy”

Tunisia has a new regime!
Lots of new rules
Awesome! Or is it?

“The Drivers of Russia’s Course: Russian Foreign Policy and Putin’s Fear of Revolution”

Putin is afraid
of color revolutions
and blames the U.S.

“The Evolution of Head of State Immunity for International Crimes”

Gotta extradite!
personal immunity?
Oh, never mind then.

“Beyond Isolation: Moving Past the Refugee Camp and Connecting to Home”

War and disaster
A mobile phone for the road
Connecting with home

“Food Security, Monoculture, and the Black Box: Impact and Causal Mechanisms of the Land Husbandry, Water Harvesting, and Hillside Irrigation Program in Rwanda”

Dudes ate better food
Why do we see these results?
Probably compost

“The effect of sector-specific tax incentives on Brazilian FDI inflows”

People hate taxes.
Wait, isn’t that obvious?
Yup. That’s my capstone…

“Russia’s invasion of Crimea: effects on energy geopolitics in the Caucasus and the Central Asia”

Putin hits, EU watches
Right in the middle Ukraine falls
In the end, energy talks

“Commercializing Cassava: A Case Study of SABMiller’s South Sudan Supply Chain”

Beer is real tasty
And farmers might make mo’ cash
Oh wait, there’s a war

“Migration by Choice, Not Necessity? Shifts in the Migration and Development Discourse since 2007”

If not migrant rights,
What are you really talking about?
Cue awkward silence.

“Advocating for Security Sector Reform in the Review of Peace Operations: Strategy and Analysis for United Nations Security Sector Reform Practitioners”

Not merely bullets
Governance and ownership
Listen, Ban Ki-moon

“How to Evaluate Non-State Actors for Political and Military Partnerships in Irregular Conflicts: A Case Study of the Free Syrian Army”

Wars get ugly quick.
Something called HUMINT.
Next time, read a history book.

“The new European Commission: institutional and political capacities to relaunch the European economy.”

New leaders – new will?
Or promises don’t bind?
Merkel will decide.

“A comparative analysis of transnational criminal groups in Latin America: Mexican drug cartels and Salvadoran gangs — an overview of trends and responses”

Both are really bad
Monkey see, monkey do… eek!
Governments are slow

“Progress, Opportunity, Prosperity? A Case Study of the Digitization of a Conditional Cash Transfer Program in Mexico”

Cash money real nice
Digital road less traveled
Change is really hard

“Philippine Department Of Tourism: A Case Study Destination Branding Through “It’s More Fun In The Philippines”

Manila Thrill-ah
Islands, Beaches, FDI
And lots of traffic…

“Drivers of conflict around hydropower development in the Brazilian Amazon: from Tucurui to Tapajos”

It’s all about trust
If you screw me I screw you
As simple as that

“Navigating Nairobi: A Case Study of Digital Innovation in the Transport and Logistics Sector in Kenya”

Bus, car, bike, walk…stay?
Phone and internet, oh yay!
Twende o twende

(Twende = “let’s go” in Swahili)